A macaque named Lapik peaks out from inside a capsule after a two-week flight during the Russia-France-U.S. joint Bion 11 mission. The flight landed safely in Kazakhstan in January 1997.

Lapik and another macaque, named Multik, were part of a project to study weightlessness. Multik died shortly after landing during a post-mission medical exam.

Although humans have been making space voyages since 1961, animals have continued to play a role in international space tests. In addition to monkeys, animals that have gone into space in the name of science include dogs, cats, fruit flies, rabbits, turtles, spiders, jellyfish, and amoebas.